The Milwaukee–Dearborn subway is an underground section of the

Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...

system in The Loop, Chicago,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It is long and forms the central part of the Blue Line. As of February 2013, the subway serves an average of 44,584 passengers each weekday. Since the subway is served by the Blue Line, it is open to passengers 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

History

The Milwaukee–Dearborn subway project was funded by ''

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

'' programs established by

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. In 1937, the city of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

successfully applied for a federal grant and loan from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

to fund the construction of two subway tunnels, the first of which would be built beneath State Street and the second beneath Milwaukee Avenue and Dearborn Street. In March 1939, construction began on the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway. The tunnel was buried deep to enable the use of a

tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...

throughout the construction of the subway. Only brief sections were built using the "cut-and-cover" method. Rationing imposed by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

delayed completion of the subway due to a shortage of materials. Construction on the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway, which was 80% completed in 1942, was temporarily halted to allow for the scarce supply of labor and materials to be used to continue construction of the State Street subway, which was considered a priority. In December 1945, the city of Chicago resumed work on the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway. The Milwaukee–Dearborn subway officially opened for passenger service on February 25, 1951. In 1958, the southern branch of the tunnel was extended under

Congress Parkway Ida B. Wells Drive (formerly Congress Parkway) is a major east–west street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It runs east from the Jane Byrne Interchange, where it meets Interstate 90 (I-90), I-94 and I-290. At Well ...

, past its former terminus at LaSalle, to connect to the Congress Branch in the median of the

Eisenhower Expressway Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs westward from the Jane Byrne Interchange near the Chicago Loop. The portion of I-290 from Interstate 294, I-294 to its east end is officially called the Dwight D. Eisenhowe ...

. A new station was opened at this time at Clinton Street. On February 9, 1992, the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...

closed the Grand/Milwaukee station due to budget cuts and low ridership. The station reopened on June 25, 1999 at 6:00 a.m. On April 13, 1992, the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway closed due to the great flood of Chicago. The three neighbouring stations in the Loop area,

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, and

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, form one long continuous platform that runs underneath Dearborn Street.

Incidents

On July 11, 2006, a train derailment caused a fire in the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway, causing the subway to be closed temporarily. 150 people were injured to varying degrees but there were no fatalities.

Service

On February 21, 1993, the CTA color-coded the lines, making the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway part of the present day Blue Line. The Blue Line runs 24 hours a day/7 days a week, providing service between O'Hare and Forest Park.

Station listing

Image gallery

File:Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway.png, The route of the subway as it shows majority of the route in the Loop area File:Clark-Lake Subway platform; Side View.JPG, The subway platform at Clark/Lake, the network's busiest tri-level station File:20031119 07 CTA Blue Line Washington Station.jpg, The

station used to have a former tunnel connection to the Red Line's closed

station

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milwaukee-Dearborn subway (CTA) Chicago Transit Authority Railway lines in Chicago Chicago "L" infrastructure